Non Renewable Resources

Nature is man’s gift. We live in a world where all we need to survive is around us. God has bestowed on us natural resources to meet our daily needs. However, we owe it to ourselves and the unborn generation to preserve these resources. Some of these resources can still be savaged while others can not be revamped. The first set of natural resources are called renewable resources that can still be replaced when they are used like water, sunlight, wood and air, while the other set of resources are non renewable resources like coal, uranium, gas and oil.

It is no news that the ozone layer is getting thinner by the day. Environmentalists have taken it upon themselves to intimate the government and the people about the inherent danger of “spoiling the environment”. Environmentalists have been clamoring on the effect of energy consumption and the pollution that we create in the environment. This development has led to the “green house” evolution – a term for the preservation of the environment. It is estimated that America uses about 25% of the world’s non renewable resources.

Annalists have been forced to ask if this is due to a population bomb in our country or if there are other explanations for this figure. In my opinion, it is a bit of both. Not only is the nation large in population, America is a highly developed and industrialized nation. The rate of energy consumption is high in America because of the level of technological advancement in the country. In addition to this, it should be noted that the energy consumed by America is not only used by the Americans.

The products made from the use of these non-renewable are also used by people in different parts of the world. Thus, it will be unfair to rate America’s energy consumption without considering the fact that it is not only Americans who use this products. Using up non-renewable resources comes with its short and long term demerits. The first is that once these resources are used up, the prices of the products that they are used to make will increase. This is happen in the long run as the demand for the products will be more than the supplies made.

Apart from this, we will be forced to look elsewhere for the recourses that will be used for manufacturing the same products that we use nonrenewable resources for. Finally, another issue that should be given priority is the fact that scarcity of these resources might lead to a slowing down of industrialization. Reference: Hutchison, P. (2009) Resources- Renewable or Nonrenewable? Retrieved from http://edhelper. com/ReadingComprehension_54_592. html on May 24, 2009 Weitzman, M. (1999). Pricing the Limits to Growth from Minerals Depletion. Quarterly Journal of Economics 114(2): 691-706.